Car-coupling



(No Model.)

J. W. PERGUSSON.

GAR COUPLING.

No.312,110. v V Patented Feb. 10,1885.

WITNESSES: 6/ (2M J ATTORNEYS.

"'Unrrsn Spares JOHh \VRIGHT FERGUSSON, OF SARDIS, MISSISSIPPI.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,110, dated February 10, 1885.

Application filed July 16, 1884. (No model.)

' T (1% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN WRIGHT FERGUS- SON, of Sardis, in the county ofPanola and State of Mississippi, haveinvented a new and Improved Oar-Coupling, of which the follow ing is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a car-coupling which may be operated to couple and uncouple the cars without going between the cars, and thus avoid injury to the trainmen.

The invention consists in particular constructions of the draw-head with a couplingstud fixed to the floor of its link-socket, and an opposing stud pendent from a hinged capplate, together with an uncoupling device or frame located behind the studs, and adapted to lift the upper stud away from the lower one, and to raise the end of the link to allow the cars to be separated.

The invention includes, also, a contrivance of a link-carrier adapted to guide the free end of the coupling-link into the opposing drawhead and behind the drawhead studs for coupling automatically, and in various details of construction and combinations of parts of the coupling, all as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,forn1ing a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a sectional and a side elevation of opposite car-couplings constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan and a plan view of the opposite couplings, and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of one of the couplings with the link carrier partly broken away.

The letter A indicates the draw-head of my improved coupling; B, the coupling-link; O, the link carrier, and D the uncoupling frame or device;

The draw-head A is made with the interior chamber or link-socket,a, to the floor of which upward for about half the height of the socket a, and so as to meet or nearly meet the pendent stud or horn F, which is fixed to thelower side of a plate, G, which is pivoted at 9, near the front end of the draw-head, and so as to close down into a suitable recess, 9, at the back end of the link-socket. This plate G, when closed, forms a cap or cover to the link-socket a, and when it is opened it lifts the stud F away from't-he stud E, to permit the end cross-bar, b, of the link B to drop behind the stud E for coupling the cars, as hereinafter more fully explained. The front face,f, of the stud F is beveled downwardand backward, or reversely to the stud E, and the end-of the bottom of the draw-head is flaredin continuation of the bevel of the stud E, so that the link will be guided to place; and,'further, to facilitate the proper engagement of the link with the stud E, I make the link B flaring or increasing in width from the ends 1) toward its center, where it has a the link is suchthat when the end I; ofthe link is in position to drop behind the stud E of the draw-head the opposite side bars, I)", of the link will have been guided by the side walls of the draw-head, so as to center the end of the link over the stud and insure its dropping behind the stud, as will be understood from Fig. 2. i

The link-carrier 0 consists of a cross-head, 0, having an upwardly and backwardly beveled upper face, 0, and afront face, 0. Iprefor to make this head 0 of thin metal, having a box-like form without back or bottom, and with ends 0* 0 to which latter the forwardlyprojecting bars or arms 1-1 H are rigidly fixed by the pins or screws 71. The bars H pass through guide eyes or loops I, fixed at the opposite sides'of the draw-head, and connect behind the eyes by pivots i with the bars J, which are pivoted at j to the draw-head A. Springs K, fixed to the projecting ends of a cross bar, L, held to the draw-head, act by their lower ends against the hack edges of the bars J. to swing them outward and carry the bars H and heads ,0 forward, which is their normal position when the cars are uncoupled, the ends 0 of the heads 0 then ranging about vertically, as in Fig. 1, which shows one drawhead somewhat higher than the other, to bet ter illustrate the action of the link-carrier. The springs K may be held in any suitable manner to the draw-head, so as to act on the cross-bar or stiffener, I). This sidewise flare of IOC bars J, and blocks or pins 1 are provided on the draw-head to limit the forward throw of the bars J and the link-carrier heads by the Springs.

The uncoupling device D consists of a rectangular frame having a lower end cross-bar, d, on which the end b of the coupled link rests at the inner end of the link-socket a, and two side arms, (1 d, which rise at either side of the socket a, and through side notches, 9 in the cap-plate G, and the arms d d are connected by a cross-bar, d which rests on the plate G to hold it down, and to which bar is fixed an eye, m, from which a pull cord or chain, M, extends to the top of the car or to the car-platform.

The side arms, (1 d, of the uncouplingframe D have studs or pins N, which,when the cord M is pulled to raise the frame D, come against the under side of the cap-plate G, to raise it on its pivot g and lift the stud Faway from the stud E, and at the same time the lower bar, d, of the frame D lifts the inner end, b, of the link above the top of the stud E, when the link may be withdrawn. The lower cross-bar, cl, of the frame D strikes stop studs or pins 0, fixed in the draw-head, to limit the rise of the frame when the link has-been lifted above the top of the stud E.

The operation is as follows: As shown, the left-hand car and coupling, with the link B held at one end behind the stud E, has advanced sufficiently to cause the free end of the link to ride up the inclined face cof the linkcarrier of theright-hand car and raise thelink, so that it will be guided over the carrier into the draw-head, and on entering the draw-head the end of the link will ride up the inclined face e of the stud E and push up the stud F and drop behind the stud E to couple on the right-hand car automatically. As the cars come together the ends 0 c of the opposite link-carriers will strike each other and swing the carriers backward against the tension of the springs K until the draw-heads strike each other and the coupling is effected, in which positions (represented by the dotted lines at the right hand in Fig. 1) the carriers will re main until the cars are uncoupled by lifting one of the frames D, as before described, and when the cars are drawn apart the springs Kwill act instantly to thrust the link-carriers of both draw-heads out again to the positions shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, ready for coupling with the next car, as required. Should the coupling-link be held inthe high or righthand draw-head when the coupling is to be made, the link will of course be held up entirely by the higher or right-hand link-carrier until it strikes the inclined face of the stud E of the lower draw-head, as will readily be understood.

It is obvious that the cars may be coupled or uncoupled without requiring the train-men to go between them, thereby avoiding the dangers to life and limb incident to the usual methods of coupling; and when the coupling is effected the link cannotjar out of either drawhead, andv the link-carriers adjust themselves automatically to guide the entering link properly without attention of the train-men.

Having thus described myinvention, Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a car-coupling, the combination, with the draw-head A, provided with the stud E on the floor of its link-socket, of the cap plate G, for closing the upper part of the socket, hinged to the forward end of the draw-head, and p1ovided with the stud F on its under face, and the sliding frame D, adapted to engage with the hinged cap, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The combination, with the draw-head A, provided with a stud, E, the hinged plate G, provided with the stud F, and the uncouplingframe D, of the stops N O, substantially as shown and described.

3. The uncoupling-frame D,- made with a lower crossbar, d, to lift the link, side bars, (2 d, having stops N to lift the plate G, and an upper cross-head resting on said plate, substantially as shown and described.

4. The link-carrier (3, made with a crosshead. 0, and arms H H, guided to move along the draw-head and pivoted to bars J J, which are pivoted to the draw head, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with the link-carrier consisting of head 0, arms H H, and bars J J, pivoted to each other, and the draw-head, as specified, of the springs K K, substantially as shown and described.

J OHN WRIGHT FERGUSSON.

Witnesses:

WV. W. SMITH, JOHN WRIGHT. 

